This treatment approach, teaches families healthy ways to interact with each other. It emphasizes family relationships as an important factor in psychological health. Family therapy assists with learning how to talk to each other and respect each other.

Multi Family Group

Multi-Family Group ( MFG ) is an evidence based practice that helps families of teenagers to develop problem solving skills. It offers social support and modeling of healthy relationships, boundaries and limits. This group follows a regular structure, helping group members to learn through repetition. Each individual is encouraged to identify one thing that is going well for them and one thing they are struggling with. We encourage each person to focus on their own reports, and to personalize what is going well or not, without blaming or pointing fingers. Our focus is on self responsibility. Each group will focus on one struggle and together group will focus on brainstorming possible solutions and then pros and cons for each solution. At the end of group an action plan is developed to help encourage follow through, and break down problem solutions. This group is less focused on processing, and more focused on identifying problems and practicing the problem solving model.

Parent and Guardian education classes

The parenting classes offered through CCMH focus on improving the relationship between the parent or caregiver and a child, ultimately decreasing stress and conflict and building mutual respect and self esteem. The current classes offered are split into 2 groups, parents with teens, and parents with younger kids. This allows us to focus more individually on different needs of clients.

For parents of children 2-10 we use the Child Parent Relationship Therapy curriculum. The goals of this class are improvement in the relationship between the child and parent, evidenced by improvement in communication and empathy. Child problem behaviors not only improve, but the parent’s perception of the child and/or problem behaviors changes. Adding this model to individual child centered play therapy has also shown better results than traditional play therapy alone. It reduces time spent in therapy and decreases relapse. CPRT trains parents in communication, relationship building, limit setting and choice giving which can be used with other children in the home or family, and is preventative of future problems or need of treatment.

For parents of young adults, age 12-18 we use the Active Parenting of Teens curriculum. The goals of this class are for parents develop skills focused on improving their child’s courage, cooperation, respect, responsibility, and self-esteem. Parents use family activities and skills to improve their relationship and mutual respect with their teens. Positive attachment to family, school and peers; increased or improved family participation in counseling; improved attitudes and education about teen alcohol use; increased self esteem. Parents are taught methods for problem solving and disciplining their teen, as well as important information about brain development and common teen behavior.

In-home and In Office: Parent Skills Training

We seek out and meet clients at their homes to provide direct and ongoing training for parents and guardians

This group focuses on many skills including

Setting Limits and Boundaries

Attending to a Childs Needs

Providing Structure

Managing Consequences

Positive Interactions

The parent skill training courses are not merely limited to inter agency facilities,
they extend into clients homes. Clients appreciate our mobility and see this as a convince to them.
Our flexibility with these classes allows us to not only see clients within our agency,
but also seek out and meet clients at their homes if that’s more comfortable and beneficial to clients.

Child Centered Play Therapy

Child Centered Play Therapy is a specific model that many of our children’s therapists have been trained to use.
The primary principle of play therapy is play is the child’s natural way of communicating, and the toys are their words.
During a special playtime, a child is empowered to do many of the things they would like, in many different ways.

The therapist will follow their play and support them verbally by providing esteem building,
encouragement, reflection, empathy, limit setting and choice giving.
The child is not asked to answer lots of questions or explain what they are thinking or feeling or why they do what they do.
They are welcomed to use play, their symbolic language, for self-expression.

This is an important way to provide therapy for children, because it meets them where they are
developmentally as they often lack the ability to organize their feelings, thoughts or emotions into words.
A play therapist may also provide education for parents consistent with the CPRT class curriculum,
as well as to provide support for the child at home.